The 49th Hunger Games
by TrueAngelofMusic1
Summary: *SYOT* Every year, 24 children are sent to hell on earth to fight to the death until only one remains. Who will return home and who will be killed before they have the chance? *Closed*
1. Tribute List

This is the list of the accepted tributes and available spots

District 1

**M:** Gold "Golden" Gild (17)

**F:** Shail Dmitri (16)

District 2

**M:** Tiberius Aldjoy (18)

**F:** Juniper Rekling (16)

District 3

**M:** Josef "Seph" Ingal (13)

**F:** Anastasia "Anna" Ribbon (15)

District 4

**M:** Giovanni Vara (16)

**F:** Harmonia Dorcey (13)

District 5

**M:** Xavier Casco (13)

**F:** Fluora Denzel (14)

District 6

**M:** Dally "Dal" Comyu (15)

**F:** Adelie "Addi" Loret (18)

District 7

**M:** Epi Clearone (18)

**F:** Nicole Oak (16)

District 8

**M:** Marcell Vain (14)

**F:** Chrystalline "Chryssy' Marcenu (13)

District 9

**M:** Ollivan "Ollie" Trias (17)

**F:** Caramel Terradi (13)

District 10

**M:** Andrew Fox (14)

**F:** Saber Klistel (17)

District 11

**M: **Omri "Nash" Nahshon(15)

**F:** Valiriette "Valley" Yoshina (16)

District 12

**M:** Col Corder (17)

**F:** Rachel "Rach" Crispin (16)

Let the 49th Hunger Games begin! May the odds be ever in your favor!

(First part of the reaping should be up within a day or two!)


	2. Sponsor Guide

When tributes are in the games, you will be able to send them sponsor gifts. Each gift costs a different amount of points and, as the games go on, the costs will go up. You can sponsor any tribute, not just your own. There are a few ways that you can earn points.

Submitting a short review for a chapter (Must be at least a full sentence)- **1 point per review**

Submitting a long and detailed review for a chapter- **3 points per review**

Writing a segment on your character and PMing it to me. (Just a drabble-like thing so I can understand your character better. It can be just a random thing that happened to them at some point in their life.) Must be at least 1,000 characters and sent through PM- **4 points**

Submitting a review for another one of my stories (Must be at least a full sentence)- **1 point per review**

Now that you know how to get Sponsor Points, here is what you can use them on and how much each item costs:

_Food_

Packet of dried beef strips- **5 points**

Packet of crackers- **4 points**

Packet of dried fruit- **4 points**

Small bowl of warm broth- **5 points**

Large bowl of warm broth- **6 points**

_Medical_

One small bandage- **4 points**

One large bandage- **5 points**

One vial of morphling/painkiller- **6 points**

Fever reducing medicine- **7 points**

A small bottle of disinfectant- **6 points**

_Weapons_

Bow and quiver with 6 arrows- **12 points**

Mace- **8 points**

Sword- **9 points**

Knife- **7 points**

Extra arrows- **2 points each**

_Misc._

1 liter bottle of water; empty- **6 points**

1 liter bottle of water; full- **7 points**

Set of eight matches- **5 points**

You can start submitting the reviews and character drabbles for points once the first chapter of reapings is up. I have already started working on the first couple of reapings and I will start posting them once all of the tribute spots are filled. I need a few more bloodbaths so _please_ try to submit one for one of the available district spots!

When you want to send an item to a tribute just PM me with the item you want me to send them.

Thank you and May the Odds Be _Ever_ In Your Favor!


	3. The Reaping: Part 1

**So here it is! The first part of the reaping is finally here! I'm so excited to hear what you all think of the tributes. I hope you like it!**

_District 1_

Seventeen year old Gold Gild quickly ran his hand over the selection of different spears that were resting on the display rack. He made his decision and picked up the one that he liked the best. He held it in his hand for a moment before bringing it behind him slightly and throwing it with as much force as he could manage at a dummy that was twenty yards away. It landed in the center of the training dummy's chest, right where he had been aiming. He gave a satisfied smirk as he turned towards his eleven year old sister Scarlet, who had been sitting behind him.

"Right on target." He said smugly. She rolled her eyes, unimpressed.

"Could have been better." She said insolently. He narrowed his eyes at her. Though Scarlet was much younger than him, she was just as competitive. They both had the same dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. They had been training together for three years, since Scarlet was eight. It was when most of the children in the district started their training. Gold had been the top in his training class for years, excelling at anything deadly. His favorite though, was spears.

"Oh, like you could do better." He snapped. He couldn't stand when his little sister challenged him. Actually, he couldn't stand it when _anyone_ challenged him. He knew that he was the best and nobody was about to take that away from him.

"Just you wait Golden." Scarlet said confidently, using Gold's nickname. "Once I am old enough, I am going to win the games and then you'll see that you aren't all that." He scoffed at her.

"Well we'll see about that." He said as he rolled his eyes. "But you wont be old enough for years." He knew that his sister wouldn't volunteer until she was much older, that way she had a better chance. "This year is _my _year." A vicious smile crossed his face. "And when I win, there won't be anything you can say."

"Whatever." She said dismissively as she stood up. "We should get going. You need to get ready." She walked over to the other side of the training center and pulled out the spear that was deeply imbedded into a dummy's chest. A mischievous smile crossed Gold's face. He picked up another spear, not bothering to check what kind it was, and threw it towards the next training dummy in the row. It flew right past his sister's head and landed in the dummy's arm. He smiled anyways; he hadn't been aiming for the target, he had just wanted to scare his sister.

Scarlet shrieked quietly as the weapon whizzed past her. She turned towards Gold quickly.

If looks could kill…

… … … … …

"Shail! Get up _now_." Caser Dmitri called to his sister who, at sixteen, was a year younger than him. "Kassie, Laila and Fristia are here!" he said as he knocked on her door again. He groaned. He had been trying to wake her up for almost twenty minutes and she still hadn't gotten out of bed. Her friends were waiting downstairs for her to go get ready for the reaping with them.

He rolled his eyes. The four girls used the reaping as an excuse every year to get dressed up even more than usual. It wasn't like any of them actually intended to be picked, unlike a vast majority of the districts population of teens. The girls were some of the few who wouldn't try and volunteer. Shail had chosen not to train at all during her childhood, preferring to spend her time with much more superficial hobbies such as clothes, makeup, hair and boys. She had decided at a very young age that she didn't like anything that caused her to get dirty, sweaty or in anyway compromised her looking her best.

He was about to knock on the door again when it opened. Shail was standing in the doorway with a scowl on her perfect face.

Shail was beautiful, to say the least. She had bleach blonde, wavy hair that went just past her shoulders and large, hazel eyes. She was on the taller side and had curves in all the right places. Her hair and heavily made up face were already perfectly done, though there was no doubt she was just going to redo both when she went to her friend's house to get ready.

"I'm up." She informed as she pursed her lips slightly out of habit; she knew exactly how to get what she wanted, _especially_ from boys. Caser rolled his eyes; he was one of the few people that was able to resist his sister's manipulative charm.

"Your friends are here." He told her again.

"I heard you the first time." She said dismissively as she grabbed a large duffle bag from her room and walking down the stairs. She walked into the living room, where her three friends were waiting.

"Good morning girls." She said as she went to air kiss Laila, who was standing the closest. Shail's friends could all easily be called pretty, though none of them could truly compare to Shail. "Ready to go?" she asked perkily. The girls all nodded and they headed out the door and towards Kassie's house were they would all get ready for the reaping. Although none of them actually wanted to be chosen, they all used the day as a chance to dress up and outdo the other females in the district. Shail also used the day to show off to her boyfriend of two years, Jace. It was the perfect day to be noticed.

Yes, today would be perfect.

… … … … …

"It's about time." Gold's mother called as he and Scarlet walked in the door of the house. She was walking around the house quickly, getting everything ready for her son's reaping. She knew full well that her son intended to volunteer this year and she wanted to make sure that he looked his best. As she finished putting his outfit together, Gold's father approached him.

"Where were you?" he asked him.

"Training of course." he answered with a confident smile. His father, James Gild, nodded approvingly. "I'm going to dominate the arena this year." He assured his father.

"I have no doubt of it." his father said. He turned towards Scarlet. "Are you excited to see your big brother win the games and become famous?" he asked her. Scarlet frowned slightly.

"I'm more excited for when I'm old enough to compete." She answered matter of factly. James chuckled.

"Well you wont be old enough to even be entered until next year. But you will want to wait until you're at least Golden's age to volunteer. It will give you more training time." He said. Gold's mother came up to him and handed him an outfit that she had carefully put together.

"Go get cleaned up and change into this." She instructed. Gold nodded and walked up the stairs to his bathroom. He showered before getting dressed in the dark pants and light grey dress shirt. He fixed his blonde hair for a moment before heading back down the stairs where his family was waiting. They had all changed clothes including Scarlet who, dressed up, actually looking like the innocent little eleven year old that she should be instead of the ruthless future killer that she was. They would all wait during the reaping in the section that was designated for the people who were all either too old or too young to be entered. His mother sighed with a smile as she came up to him.

"Make sure that you volunteer yourself on time, there will be plenty of other boys your age who will want to compete too. But you can beat them to it." she encouraged. "You better get going. We'll see you at the justice building in a little while!" she said with an excited grin. Gold nodded in confirmation before heading out the door.

… … … … …

The girls all rushed into Kassie's bedroom excitedly. Almost right away, Shail zipped open a large bag that she had taken with her from her house. The first thing that she pulled out of it was her dress. It was soft pink with small jewels covering the left shoulder. It would go a few inches above her knees and had a fairly low neckline, the typical style that Shail preferred. The three other girls fawned over the dress, insisting on how perfect it was. Shail smiled happily, she loved being the center of attention.

"Well we better start getting ready." She said. "Wouldn't want to be late for the reaping." With that, the girls all began to change into their dresses and started to do their hair and makeup. Shail briefly wondered if any other girls in the district put this much effort into getting ready for the reaping. She quickly shrugged off the thought, figuring that it didn't matter how long other girls took to get ready, Shail and her friends would all look the best no matter what.

Quite a while later, when the girls had finished getting ready and were all sitting around the room chatting about nonsense topics, there was a knock on the bedroom door.

"Come in!" Kassie called as all the girls turned their heads to see who the visitor was. Jace, Shail's boyfriend, poked his head in the room. He scanned the room quickly before his eyes landed on Shail. He walked over to her and kissed her happily as she stood up to greet him.

"Hey baby." She said with a smile. She absolutely adored him. He was tall, had dark brown hair and bright blue eyes and was fairly muscular. He was ideally attractive, which Shail found _very _important in a boyfriend.

"You look amazing, as usual." He complimented. "We should go now. They are going to start soon." She nodded and took his hand and followed him out the door and towards where the reaping would take place.

… … … …. …

Shail inhaled sharply as her finger was pricked when she walked into her age section. Kassie and Fristia followed close behind her. Laila was a few rows away in her age section; she was a year younger than the rest of them.

Looking around, Shail could recognize a few other girls from her school. She didn't know most of their names; she was almost exclusively friends with Kassie, Laila and Fristia, though others had tried desperately to get into their group.

Some of the girls had fierce, determined looks on their faces. Shail guessed those were the ones who would volunteer, the ones who had been training for this for years. Shail scoffed; what a waste of time.

It took a few more minutes for the rest of the children in the district to file in and get into their sections. Before long she heard the sound of feedback coming from the microphone as the Capitol escort tapped it quickly, getting everyone's attention. She went through the usual spiel to open the reapings, followed by the film that they had all seen an obnoxious amount of times. Shail sighed in sheer boredom, it seemed like this was going on forever. She couldn't wait to just get out of there so she could go be with Jace.

After what seemed like an eternity, the film ended and the escort walked over to the large bowl with hundreds of names printed on them. She put her hand in and moved it around dramatically for a moment. She pulled out a single piece of paper and opened it in front of her face.

"Shail Dmitri!"

Her heart stopped, her head spun, the world seemed to stop. No. She couldn't have heard it right. No. She looked around nervously, everyone was staring at her. She suddenly realizes that she heard it right, her name had been called. She took a deep breath and began to walk slowly up to the stage, escorted by Peacekeepers. Her mind raced, she didn't know what to do. Thoughts went through her head a mile a minute.

Volunteers. There _had_ to be volunteers wanting to go up in her place, just waiting for the escort to ask for them. But why? What could possibly possess them to want to go into this? Fame. Money. Glory. In all actuality, it didn't seem like such a bad thing to her. If she won, she would get everything that she would have ever wanted. All she had to do was win, and how hard could that be? Sure, there were probably going to be some pretty fierce competitors but she had to have _something_ that could help her win.

The escort turned towards the microphone as Shail stepped up next to her.

"Do we have any volunteers?" she asked the crowd.

"No." Shail said quickly. "No volunteers."

... … … … …

Gold watched as the girl walked up to the stage. He didn't recognize her from the training academy. She definitely wasn't one of the _many_ girls that constantly followed him around desperately. She was beautiful, he would admit that much, but she looked scared. Terrified almost. That's why he was surprised when she refused to accept volunteers. He wondered if maybe she was one of the people that trained privately and acted useless but was actually a skilled killer. If she was, he figured she must be a pretty good actor. He would watch her; she might be a useful ally.

At last, the escort went to reach in for the male tributes. He prepared himself. She slowly pulled out a slip of paper and raised it up to eye level so she could read it.

"Matthew-"

"I volunteer!" Gold called out quickly, not even letting her finish reading the slip of paper. He ran up to get closer to the stage. "I volunteer." He repeated. She looked down at him. She looked slightly annoyed that he hadn't let her finish reading but Gold had figured it was the only chance he would get to stand out before the others would volunteer. The escort put on a smile that seemed a little too fake.

"Well, it appears we have a volunteer." She said into the microphone, as if it wasn't obvious. Gold stepped up on the stage.

"What's your name?"

"Gold Gild." He said with a confident smile as he looked out at the huge crowd. He turned to shake hands with the blonde girl that was now his district counterpart when the escort instructed. Yes, she was definitely beautiful. He gave her a small smirk. This was going to be fun.

… … … … …

Kassie, Laila and Fristia burst in the door, there eyes flooding with tears. They all ran up and hugged her at the same time.

"It's alright." Shail tried to comfort them while trying to sound confident. With them crying, it made her want to cry too.

"You are _so_ brave." Kassie gushed.

"The bravest." Fristia agreed. Shail couldn't help but smile slightly. She was happy that that is how she had seemed and she hoped that is what other people thought too.

"You are going to win." Laila assured. "Everyone is going to love you too much to even want to…" her voice trailed off, not wanting to say 'to kill you.' Shail nodded and took in a deep breath.

"Of course I'm going to win." She said with a smile. "Don't you worry about that." Fristia opened her mouth, about to say something else, when the Peacekeeper opened the doors.

"Time's up." He said harshly as he pushed the girls out the door. They all tried to shout their goodbyes quickly before the door slammed behind them. It wasn't even a full minute later when the doors opened again, this time Caser and their mother and father walked in. Her mother was sobbing hysterically, too much to even talk. She hugged Shail before backing away into Shail's father's arms. Caser approached her.

"You think you can do this?" he asked her. She nodded, hoping she seemed confident. He sighed. "Well, good. You better train your ass off while you have the chance. No slacking because its hard." He instructed. "I guess that's all I can say." He hugged his sister quickly followed by her father. Before long, the Peacekeeper came back to kick them out. Shail sat on one of the seats in the room as she waited to see if there would be any more visitors.

She was beginning to think no one else would come when the door burst open and Jace ran in, the Peacekeeper nowhere in sight. He took her in his arms and held her for almost a full minute.

"Why?" he asked, still embracing her. "Why wouldn't you take volunteers?" She sighed as she pulled back.

"When I win," she said with a smile "we will have everything we could ever want. We will have the perfect lives. Don't worry, I _will_ win." He nodded, trying to believe her. He fished through his pockets for a moment before pulling something out. He placed a small, silver ring in her hand.

"I was going to give it to you later today but I guess I don't have that much time. So I guess now is as good a time as ever. Use it as your district token." He said with a forced smile. He kissed her quickly and walked out of the room, still no Peacekeeper in sight.

… … … … …

Gold waited for any visitors to come say goodbye to him. He didn't expect many; he didn't have any close friends and whatever friends he _did_ have he probably just lost by beating them out to volunteer. But his family did come, as they said that they would.

His mother embraced him excitedly, talking a mile a minute on how proud and happy she was. His father gave him a confident smile and a few parting words before stepping aside. Scarlet approached him with a small scowl on her face.

"Jealous?" he asked her in a teasing tone.

"No." she spat. "That girl." She said, referring to Shail. "That should be _me_. She isn't going to last a full minute." She predicted. Gold ruffled her hair.

"It'll be your turn soon enough." He promised. She sighed.

"Fine. Goodbye Golden, see you soon." She said just before the Peacekeeper lead them all out the door.

… … … … …

_District 2_

Eighteen year old Tiberius Aldjoy strode into the private room in the district's training academy, his best friends Alto and Felix following closely behind. Tiberius had dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He was huge, all muscle and confidence, and fairly intimidating to look at.

There was another boy already using the training room, swinging maces at the moving training dummies. Tiberius walked up to where the boy was training and folded his arms, causing the boy to pause and look at him.

"Out." Tiberius commanded harshly. "I'm here to train."

"Not a chance." The boy retorted as he turned back to his mace training. Tiberius put a hand on his shoulder and roughly turned the boy back to face him. Alto and Felix took a step closer, showing that they would back Tiberius up. The boys face turned pale and he nodded his head quickly as he took a few quick steps towards the door to leave. Tiberius gave a satisfied smile as he picked up the mace that they boy had left on the ground and swung it quickly at a training dummy's head, decapitating it.

… … … … …

"Come on, once more!" sixteen year old Juniper Rekling pleaded with her father, Torch. He had been helping her train for the past three hours, trying to perfect her hand to hand combat skills. She just couldn't get it right but she felt like she needed to learn it.

"Juniper, we have been at this all day. You're doing fine." He encouraged, even though she hadn't won a match against him yet. He knew that his daughter was skilled, her sword work being her strongest, but whenever she found something that she wasn't immediately good at, she needed to work at it until she was. He sighed. "Fine, _once_ more." He said, giving in. He didn't understand why she was so obsessed with learning this so quickly.

Juniper smiled, happy that she could keep practicing. Her father didn't know that she planned on volunteering today during the reaping. She knew that if she told him he would only try to talk her out of it. She wanted to volunteer so she could prove that she was the best, which she believed that she was. She knew that she could win out of the other twenty three tributes that would be entered. She tried to focus on training as she began to train again with her father.

… … … … … …

"Wow Tiberius, that was _so_ amazing." gushed Daisy, one of the four girls that was walking with Tiberius, Alto and Felix as they were leaving the training center. The girls had asked to watch Tiberius train and he had of course agreed; he loved an audience.

There was almost constantly a group of girls following him and his friends around that fawned over their every move.

"Well, it was a pleasure seeing you, ladies." Felix said.

"But we should be going. Got to get ready for the reaping, you know." Alto finished.

"Oh, Tiberius are you really going to volunteer this year?" asked Lavender, another one of the girls. He smirked.

"Of course I am." He said confidently. "I'm eighteen this year; I've been waiting my whole life for this." The girls squealed in delight. Alto, Felix and Tiberius walked away from them and towards their homes. They made plans to meet right before getting in line at the reaping and Tiberius went into his house to get ready.

… … … … … ..

There was a soft knocking on Juniper's bedroom door as she was getting ready. She already had on her light blue dress and she was now brushing out her dark blonde hair. "Come in!" she called. Her seven year old sister Willow poked her head in.

"Oh can I help?" she asked hopefully when she saw that Juniper was doing her hair. Juniper smiled.

"Sure." She said. Willow ran into the room excitedly, shutting the door behind her. She handed her little sister the hairbrush. "You can brush it." she allowed. Willow smiled in delight. She began pulling the brush lightly through her sister's hair.

"You're so lucky." She said quietly. "You get to be all dressed up. I can't wait until I'm old enough." Juniper sighed quietly. She knew her sister meant she was excited to be able to dress up for the reaping, not actually be entered. She was too young to realize that the reaping was when you were chosen to fight. She hadn't even begun training at the academy yet and wouldn't start for another year. That's when she would realize what the games were really about.

"There" Willow said with a smile "It's perfect." Juniper turned to face her sister.

"Thank you." She said as she hugged her. She was starting to rethink whether going to the games would be worth leaving her family. She quickly shook the thought away. Of course going to the games would be worth it. It is what she had been training for and there was nothing that would get her to stay. Her thoughts were interrupted by another knock at the door. Her ten year old brother Flame came in without waiting for a response.

"Mom says you need to go." He said. She sighed and stood up.

"Alright." She said as she stood up. She took Willow's hand and walked down the stairs where her parents were waiting.

"Good luck sweetie." Her mother, Dusk, said as she embraced Juniper.

"Thanks mom." She said as she pulled away gently. She released Willow's hand and kissed her on the top of her head lightly before going out the door.

… … … … … …

Tiberius had met up with Alto and Felix like they had planned and they were all waiting for the rest of the district to file in. After a few minutes, the district escort began the speech of the games, something they had all heard countless amounts of times. It was more than slightly annoying to have to listen to something they had practically memorized. At last she reached into the bowl with the girl's names.

"Macy Lupin!" She called happily. A particularly short girl with a dark braid that went all the way down her back walked up nervously. She looked like she was barely twelve, which would explain her nervous look; most girls in the district would be more than thrilled to have the luck of having their name called.

Her eyes were wide as she stepped next to the escort.

"Any volunteers?" she asked.

"Me!" a shout came from the crowd as a hand shot up from the girl's side. It was followed by many others but it was obvious who was first. The girl who the voice belonged to ran up to the stage followed by Peacekeepers. They brought her up to the stage and brought Macy Lupin back into the crowd.

"A volunteer!" the escort said excitedly. "What's your name darling?"

"Juniper Rekling." The girl answered. She had a small smirk on her face, probably from the pleasure of beating the other volunteers.

"And now for the boys." The escort said as she walked over to the boy's names. She put her hand into the bowl and slowly pulled out a slip of paper. "Marcus Yale!" she exclaimed. Without a moment of hesitation a chorus of volunteers erupted, without any way to distinguish who was first. Tiberius shoved himself to the front where the rest of the volunteers where racing. He didn't bother yelling out; his voice would be lost in the crowd anyways.

Some of the volunteers melted back into the crowd when they saw how many people were trying to do the same as them. Tiberius pushed to the front and turned to glare at the others, causing them to immediately hesitate. He used this opportunity to go the base of the stage.

"I volunteer." He said strongly. There were no protests from the others, no one wanting to challenge him. The escort smiled as she motioned for him to come onto the stage.

"And what is your name?" she asked in an annoyingly cheery voice.

"Tiberius Aldjoy." He said. The escort beamed and went through her usual talk about how _exciting_ it was to get volunteers and how_ proud_ she was sure they would make the district. She ordered the two to shake hands. He turned towards the Juniper to shake her hand. She gave him a small smile; maybe trying to make allies already? He didn't know exactly why but he was sure to give her nothing more than a glare.

.. … … … … …

The room in the Justice Building was immediately chaos when Juniper's family came in to say goodbye. Willow ran up to her.

"You're leaving?" she asked anxiously. She still didn't completely understand _why_ Juniper was leaving, though her parents would probably have to explain it to her soon enough.

"Yeah, I am. But I'm going to try to come back as soon as I can." She promised. Willow backed away as Torch came up to Juniper.

"Why didn't you tell us?" he asked her, his voice sounding slightly distressed but she could tell he was trying to stay calm.

"I knew you would try to stop me." She told him. He sighed and nodded his head, knowing she was right. He knew that she would try and volunteer eventually but he had figured she would wait until she was eighteen like most of the other kids. Dusk came up and hugged her daughter tightly.

"Be careful." She instructed. "I know you can do it. You can come home. You can do this." She encouraged. She pulled away and kissed her on her cheek. Flame came up and hugged her. Unlike their little sister, he knew what Juniper was getting into.

"Don't worry, I'll be okay." She told him.

He sighed. "I know." He said. It looked like he was about to say something else but just then a Peacekeeper pushed open the door.

"Times up." He said as he escorted the family out.

"Hurry back!" Willow called right before the door slammed shut.

… … … … …

Tiberius waited for the large doors of the Justice Building to open with any visitors coming to say goodbye to him. He was unsure how many visitors he was going to get but he had made sure to tell the Peacekeeper at the door not to let in Daisy, Lavender or any of the other girls who followed him around. He did not need his mood brought down by obnoxious, ditzy girls.

Before long the doors opened and his mother, Kelly, walked in. She looked neither upset nor excited, her looked remained pretty impartial. "Good job." She said with a smile that looked almost forced. Tiberius sighed and fought the urge to roll his eyes. It bothered him when his mother tried to act like she cared.

Their family was never close. Tiberius' father, Cornelius, was a Peacekeeper in

District 11 and was gone all year. He hadn't even seen him since he was eight years old. He made a lot of money for the family but sometime Tiberius felt like he would give that up to have his dad around and have his mother happy. But he tried not to think like that, having his father gone had made him stronger. At least that's what he believed.

"Fight hard." She told him. "I know you're good, and you know it too. Don't get distracted and keep your mind on winning." He nodded, showing he understood. She wrapped her arms around him, for the first time in as long as he could remember. She left the room, not bothering to wait for the Peacekeeper to kick her out.

Without giving him enough time to think over his mother's visit, the door opened again allowing Alto and Felix in.

"Congrats man." Alto said with a broad smile.

"You're going to dominate." Felix encouraged. Tiberius smiled.

"And when I get back, life is going to be awesome. We'll have everything we could ever dream of." They all thought about it for a moment, how amazing it would be to have one of them be a victor. To have the respect of not only the district, but the entire country.

"It's going to be so cool watching you on TV." Alto said. "Hey, make sure to tell us about the Capitol."

"I will." Tiberius promised. He was about to promise them more, about how their lives would be when he got back, but he was interrupted by a Peacekeeper coming in the door.

"We'll see you when you get back." Felix said as they were pushed out the door.

**Okay, so I didn't get to include as many districts in this chapter as I had originally wanted. There will probably more in future chapters but I really wanted to get the first tributes out as soon as possible for you! Remember to leave a review for sponsor points! (Long, detailed reviews will be worth more points. They have to be pretty long to get those points!) Also, I hope that I did the tributes you submitted justice. I did my best with what I had and if you don't like something about the way I wrote your tribute, just PM me with something you might want me to change and I will try to do better!**


	4. The Reaping: Part 2

**Okay so a few quick notes before this chapter starts:**

**I am SOOOOO sorry about taking so long getting this chapter up. First it was because I was a bit puzzled over what to do after the SYOC/SYOT ban. I have decided to just take down the first chapter which doesn't matter because there are no more openings for tributes anyways. Then school started which took up a LOT of time. And then I had to actually write the chapter. **

**For the sponsor points I will be keeping track of them and who has how many. You can keep track of your own if you want to just to make sure I don't mess up (which isn't very likely because I don't make TOO many mistakes but hey, I'm only human) but you don't have to. If you want to know how many you have and you haven't been keeping track just PM me and I will tell you.**

**If this story gets taken off because of the ban on SYOT stories I am going to put it up again under the same title. If that happens I will not include anything in the description or title about it being an SYOT. So if you notice that this story isn't up for a few days it is probably because it was taken down but it will be putting it back up ASAP.**

**I am going to have to make the reapings a bit shorter if I want to get to the actual Capitol and Games any time soon. Because of school I will probably only be able to update this story about once a week which means that, if I kept going the way I am, we wouldn't get to the Games for months. **

**So I _think_ that is all I had to tell you guys before I start. Thank you to everyone who left a review on the last chapter, I made sure that you all got your sponsor points. Also to the people who sent me character drabbles, you got your points as well. I REALLY loved all the drabbles I got and I hope that I get lots more! **

**Enjoy!**

_District 3_

"I win!" Rueben called out as his feet past the makeshift finish line that had been drawn in the dirt. Thirteen year old Josef Ingal followed close behind. He was about 5'7, had dark skin and eyes and had spiky black hair. His eyes were framed with a pair of round glasses.

"No way! You started early." He insisted. He hated losing, especially during these races. Rueben rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Whatever Seph. But that's the third time I've won today." He pointed out.

"But I won twice yesterday." He reminded him.

"Yeah, after your detention." Rueben said with a mocking smile. "Why did you have to annoy the teacher _again_?"

"I had to." Seph said with a shrug. "But you have to admit, it was pretty funny watching her get mad." He said with a smirk. Josef was the class clown, always making jokes in school. And as a result, he was in detention more often than not. But he didn't hate school; he actually was really good at it. He had great grades but he just couldn't resist showing off to his friends.

"What did your parents say?" Rueben asked him with a grimace. Josef's parents hated that he was always getting in trouble and had really been getting sick of it lately.

"They weren't too thrilled." He answered, remembering how his parents, Chase and Christine, had yelled at him for getting in trouble _again_ and putting is future at risk _again_. But Josef could see why his parents were always on him about getting in trouble, especially lately. They didn't want him to make a mistake as big as the one he had made a few years ago, one that had almost cost him his life.

Three years earlier Josef had tried to escape the district through the woods on the far side. There had been a man that had trespassed on the mayor's property and he had been executed in front of the Justice Building for everyone to see. Josef had watched and he got scared and angry. He had run away, not thinking about the consequences. A Peacekeeper had found him before he got too far and luckily for him, he had been merciful. He could have had Josef killed for trying to escape. But because he was a child, he let him go with a warning. Though now Josef's parents always worried that they would find a way to punish him in his future.

"We better get going." Rueben said. "We don't want to be late." Josef rolled his eyes but nodded his head in agreement as the boys began walking towards their homes. It didn't take long and they said their quick goodbyes, knowing that they would see each other later in the day.

Josef opened the door to his home as quietly as possible and tried to run upstairs to his room without being noticed. No such luck.

"Seph, Seph!" Josef's ten year old brother Kellyn yelled as he ran over to him, jumping up and down.

"Where were you?" asked Ken, Kellyn's twin brother. Both boys had light brown hair and bright green eyes, different from what most other children in the district looked like.

"Mom and Dad have been wondering where you were." Kellyn told him. He had already guessed this. He was supposed to be grounded for getting detention and wasn't supposed to leave the house. But he had anyways to go see Rueben, which is why he had been _trying_ to come in the house unnoticed. But of course his little brothers would ruin that.

"Where are they?" Josef asked the boys quietly, hoping he could still sneak off to his room without his parents knowing. Ken extended his arm and pointed his finger to the other side of the room. Josef turned his head to where his brother was pointing and saw his parents standing there, gazing at him angrily.

"Josef where were you?" his mother, Christine, demanded. Her voice was a mix of both anger and worry.

"I was with Rueben." He answered with a sigh as he looked down at the ground. He didn't like getting in trouble, although he seemed to do it a lot. He didn't want his parents to be mad at him.

"You were supposed to be grounded, remember?" his father, Chase, asked angrily. Josef nodded his head, still not looking at his parents. Before Chase could yell at him, Christine sighed and placed a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"We don't have time to discus this right now. He has to get ready for the reaping." She says lightly. All the anger had drained from her voice, leaving only the worry. She turned to Josef. "We'll talk about this when you get back." She said, her voice remaining light. She said it as if she was promising to herself that he _would_ be coming back to the house after the reaping. "Go get ready." She instructed. He nodded his head and quickly ran to his room, relieved that he didn't have to be yelled at quite yet. And he figured he would probably get off easier if they talked about it after the reaping; his parents were always so happy afterwards that he hadn't been chosen.

… … … … … …

"Anna, what are you going to tell your aunt and uncle?" Carlie asked her friend Anastasia in a worried voice. Anastasia, or Anna as everyone called her, was fifteen years old and had wavy brownish blonde hair and dark blue eyes. She had a medium build and her face was splashed in freckles.

"Simple, I don't tell them." Anna said with a smirk. They were talking about the test that they had gotten back at school the day before. Anna had failed _again_. Even though she was in District 3, Anna had never been interested in anything school related, instead focusing on her athletic abilities. She was fast and strong and shined at almost any sport she tried.

"Yeah, _great_ plan. That is definitely going to work." Brodie said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. Both Brodie and Carlie had gotten near perfect scores on their tests, along with most of their class. It was District 3, after all, where most children naturally excelled at school and anything academic. And Anna's aunt and uncle, who she lived with along with her cousin, were less than understanding about her lack of interest in school.

Anna had lived with her Aunt Marilyn, Uncle Zach and twelve year old Cousin Fizz for nine years. She had moved in with them when she was six years old when her parents died in a factory accident. She didn't remember much about her parents except for she looked a lot like her mother. And she didn't even know if that memory was her own or just something her mind conjured up after so many years of being told that it was true. She couldn't really trust any memory that she had before that point.

"Fine, I'll tell them." Anna agreed. "But not until after the reaping. I'll tell them later tonight." She knew that choosing to wait until after the reaping was over was almost guaranteed to lessen any punishment her aunt and uncle might think up. It wasn't that they were mean to her, quite the opposite actually. They loved her as if she was their own daughter and treated her as such. But because they loved her they hated to see when she slacked off at school, especially when her parents had been so successful.

Brodie rolled his eyes again but couldn't help but smile. "Sure Anna. Come on you two, we should probably get home. We don't have too long before it starts." He reminded them. Anna sighed; she had almost forgotten that today was the reaping. She wished that they could have had the day off with out this interrupting.

"You're right. Come on Brodie." Carlie said. Carlie and Brodie lived only two houses away from each other and therefore they both walked home together. Whereas Anna lived a few streets away. "We'll see you later Anna." She said with a small smile. Anna knew that Carlie worried more than the rest of them about the reaping, though she tried not to show it. It wasn't that Anna and Brodie didn't worry, they just decided that if they didn't think too much about it, it wouldn't happen.

"Okay, bye guys." She said with a small wave as she turned to walk to her house. As she walked she watched as other children were going inside to get ready. She watched as a small girl walked into her house with silent tears running down her face. Anastasia figured that she was twelve and this was her first reaping; that is when most children were the most upset. It was then she remembered that her cousin Fizz was twelve this year, he would be entered too. She began running to the house, hoping to get their in time to talk to Fizz before she had to get ready herself.

As she burst in the door she saw Fizz sitting at the kitchen table, absentmindedly picking at an untouched plate of food. She walked over and sat down next to him.

"Worried about today?" she asked him quietly. He nodded his head slowly. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Don't worry, you will be fine. It's a big district; the chance of you being called when you're only twelve is nonexistent." She said, thought she knew it wasn't completely true. Though the chances were small, there was always a chance of having your name being called. Just four years ago a twelve year old boy had been chosen for their district. He had died right away in the bloodbath, though Anna wasn't about to remind Fizz of this.

"But what if I do get picked?" he asked, his voice sounding coarse as if he had been crying for a long time. "I don't know how to fight. I'm not like you, I'm no good at sports or running or being strong." Anna knew this was true. Fizz, like almost every other child in the district, had been trained in academics as opposed to anything physical. And he was even smaller than average, barely looking ten years old, never mind twelve.

"You won't get called." She assured him. "I have to get ready now and you should too." She said as she stood up and turned to leave the room. "Don't worry Fizz, everything is going to be okay." She said right before going into her room. She tried to believe her own words.

… … … … … …

Josef looked around at the huge crowd of children standing around waiting for the reaping to begin. His eyes scanned the mass of people, looking for Rueben. He hadn't been able to get to his house in time to walk with him and now there was almost no chance of finding him until afterwards.

He tapped is foot impatiently as he waited for the remaining children of the district to file in. It seemed like forever before the escort walked slowly across the stage. The crowd grew quieter with each click of her ridiculously high heels. Her fuchsia painted nails moved uncertainly over the microphone before she cleared her throat and began to speak. She welcomed the citizens of District 3 and spoke quickly to introduce the film that had been brought '_all the way from the Capitol!' _

Josef started to zone out as the narrator of the film began to speak the familiar _Loved them, fed them, protected them_…

The film ended and the escort wiped a non existent tear from her check. "Now we shall choose which girl shall have the honor of representing District 3 in the 49th annual Hunger Games!" she said excitedly as she walked over to the giant glass ball that had hundreds of slips of paper each containing the name of a girl in the district. She moved her hand dramatically before pulling out a single piece of white paper.

"Anastasia Ribbon!" she called with a ridiculous smile. There was a deafening silence as everyone began to look around for the girl. After a few moments a girl who looked around fifteen began to slowly walk forwards. A flicker of shock crossed her face, which made Josef feel a quick pang of pity for her, but her expression quickly hardened and looked tough. As she stepped up onto the stage he could see that the look on her face was almost that of superiority. Any thought of pity for her vanished.

"And now for the boys!" the escort chirped before reaching into the bowl and taking out another slip of paper.

"Josef Ingal!" she said happily. Josef's eyes grew wide and his breathing sped up. He didn't have enough time to think before heads began turning towards him. Everyone he knew and everyone he would never know now stared at him. With so little time to think he decided to do whatever he did when attention was on him, he smiled. He held onto the smile desperately as he began to walk forwards towards the stage, afraid if he let the smile fade he would break down.

He climbed onto the stage and stood next to the escort, who seemed thrilled to have a tribute that was smiling and seemed happy. Tribute. The thought that this word was now what he would be was a difficult thought to comprehend.

In the crowd he finally spotted Rueben who was standing a few rows away from where he had just been. Their eyes met and Josef waved at him, trying to change Rueben's worried face, hoping to at least get a small smile from him. Nothing.

When told to, he turned towards the girl who would now be his district partner. She was even more intimidating close up than she had looked when he watched her walk on stage. They shook hands and looked at each other quickly. She glared at him but Josef's smile never faded. The escort dismissed the district and Josef was ushered into the Hall of Justice where he finally allowed the smile to leave his face, a look of terror replacing it.

… … … … … …

Anna paced back and forth in the room, to upset to sit down. How much longer would it take for them to let her family and friends in? Why weren't they already here? It seemed like she had been waiting in the large room by herself for hours, when in reality it had only been a few minutes.

After she had paced the room countless times the large wooden doors opened, her cousin, aunt, and uncle coming in. A Peacekeeper closed the door, muttering that they had five minutes.

Fizz was the first one to run across the room to her. He hugged her tightly and buried his tear streaked face into her dress. "You said that everything was going to be okay." He said through sobs. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly.

"I said that _you_ would be okay. Which you are." She reminded him. This did nothing to calm him down.

"You have to come back." He choked out as he pulled away and looked up at her. She sighed and nodded her head.

"Yeah, of course. You know I'm going to try." She said quickly, knowing that was all she could promise him. Fizz backed away, allowing her aunt and uncle to embrace her.

"I'm so sorry." Marilyn said, a steady flow of tears going silently down her face. She kissed Anna's cheek. "You're going to do everything you can to get back. You make sure to use all your athletic skills. I guess that all those sports weren't a waist of time after all." She said with a hint of a smile. "They are going to be what gets you back to us."

"I hope so." Anna said quietly, hoping that she was right. Maybe it would help that she was athletic. Anything she could do would have to be of some use.

"We love you." Zach said, his voice sounding like he was fighting back tears, desperate not to cry. He was trying to be strong for all of them. She was about to tell them how much she loved them back. How grateful she was that they had taken her in when her parents died and treated her like a daughter. How she would never be able to pay them back for the kindness that they showed her. But before she could open her mouth to begin the Peacekeeper opened the door and demanded that they leave.

She watched as her family left the doors and she tried not to think about how this might be the last time she would ever see them; she was determined not to cry. She wouldn't let them make her cry.

Before she could begin pacing around the room again the doors opened, this time letting in Carlie and Brodie. Neither of them hesitated before running up to her and embracing her tightly.

"Please come back Anna." Carlie begged quietly.

"I'm going to try." She told her.

"Try hard." Brodie said. "Try the hardest you ever have in your life. Harder than you have in any game you ever played. You have to win this one." His voice broke at the end and he stopped talking.

"You know that I will. I'm going to use everything I know. Maybe I do have a chance of winning." She didn't really believe her own words as she said them, but when she thought about the tiniest glimmer of hope arose. Maybe she could _actually _win. She was fast, strong, and could think on her feet. That's really all you need to survive something like this, or at least she hoped.

"Of course you do." Carlie said. "You are going to be the best-" before she could finish the Peacekeeper opened the door again, coming to escort them out.

Before the door could shut completely, Anna yelled "I'm going to try!" hoping they could still hear her.

… … … … … …

"Seph!" Kellyn yelled as he ran into the room of the Justice Building. Following him were Ken, Christine, Chase and Rueben. Josef briefly wondered why they had let them in all at once but decided that it really wasn't important why they did it. All that was important now was saying goodbye to his family and friend.

"It's going to be okay." He said, trying to sound confident. He did his best to attempt a smile, hoping that it would make them all feel a little better. He didn't want to see them upset.

"How long are you going to be gone?" Ken asked, pulling at his shirt. Josef sighed.

"I'm not sure." He answered honestly. "It might be a while." This caused a loud sob to escape Christine. She wrapped her arms around him and held him for a while before backing away and leaning into her husband. Rueben came over and hugged quickly.

"I know you can do it." he said weakly. "You're really smart. Use that to help you." He didn't sound completely convinced in his own words but Josef tried to think that he was right.

"I'll try." He told him. A few seconds passed before they were all escorted out of the room, leaving Josef standing there alone.

_District 4_

"Leave me the hell alone, Tania!" Giovanni Vara shouted at his little sister. She had been pestering him all morning, talking endlessly about the reaping that was only a few hours away. She was only eleven years old so she wasn't going to be entered yet but Giovanni, at age sixteen, was entered. And he most certainly did _not_ want to listen or talk about it. He was already angry enough about it without his obnoxious little sister reminding him every minute.

Giovanni was tall, over 6'2", and muscular. He was Hispanic looking with black hair and dark brown eyes. He looked a lot like his father, Alex Vara, who was a retired Peacekeeper for the district. This alone was enough to make Giovanni dislike his father; he hated anyone that worked for the Capitol, especially people as directly connected to them like Peacekeepers. Of course, technically, everyone in the country worked for the Capitol, which could possibly be an explanation to why Giovanni hated almost everyone.

"Giovanni! Don't talk like that!" his mother yelled. "Especially not in front of your little sister!" And that could be another explanation. His parents were completely obsessed with Tania. She seemed to be their entire world while Giovanni was usually left to fend for himself.

His mother, Claudia, was one of the few people left in the country that still studied and practiced religion, another thing that bothered him about her. She was far too hung up on it as far as Giovanni was concerned. His father probably would have been disliked by the entire district for being a former Peacekeeper if he wasn't actually a nice guy. He was well liked by almost everyone. Except for his son, who still thought that being a Peacekeeper was like selling your soul to the Capitol.

Claudia wrapped her arms around Tania and kissed the top of her head. Tania smiled innocently over at him, making Giovanni desperately want to hit something. Instead he turned away quickly and stormed out the door, slamming it behind him.

… … … … … …

"I think we're done for the day." Shartkin Dorcey called out to his thirteen year old daughter, Harmonia, and her two friends, Delia and Salie, from across the training center. The three had been training together for hours, something they did every day. They were all serious about their training and were excited for the day they could compete in the Games, though they planned on waiting until they were older to volunteer.

Harmonia was very small, pale, and had straight caramel colored hair that went down to her elbows. Because of her appearance most people greatly underestimated her; but they were dead wrong. Harmonia was amazingly skilled, especially with swords. She was more talented than any girl her age that she had ever met and she was proud of it.

"Ten more minutes?" Harmonia pleaded.

"No time, you girls need to get ready. Come on, lets go." He said. The girls sighed in disappointment as they collected the weapons they had been using and put them on the racks. They followed Shartkin out of the training facility and began walking home.

Delia and Salie went separate ways from Harmonia and her father, going towards their own houses. Once they were alone, Shartkin began talking to his daughter.

"Good work today, you're really improving. Not that there is much else you need to improve on." He said with a proud smirk. He was aware that his daughter was one of the most skilled fighters he had ever witnessed. He had no doubt that when she was older she was going to have no problems becoming a victor.

"Thanks." She said with a smile. "I just wish that I was older so I could volunteer this year instead of waiting." She said impatiently. Her father chuckled.

"Soon enough." He assured her as they walked into the house. They greeted her mother Frieda and her brother Colser, who was nineteen. She ran up to her room to get ready, anxious to see who the tributes from their district would be this year.

… … … … … …

Giovanni was sitting on a long pier with his friends Daniel and Alexander. Because of the reaping all of the fishermen had the day off leaving the pier and almost the entire beach empty, a rare occasion in District 4.

Both Daniel and Alexander were seventeen years old. Daniel was tall but his face looked young. Alexander was short and had longish brown hair and wore glasses.

"Hey guys!" their friend Kendall shouted with a wave from the other end of the pier. She was a medium height and had curly blonde hair. Giovanni turned and smiled at her as he stood up to greet her. She ran down the pier to meet up with them.

"Sorry I'm late, I had some homework that I needed to get finished." She explained. Giovanni rolled his eyes mockingly. She was very smart and more interested in school than anyone else he knew and he loved to tease her about it.

Just then two boys ran past them, bumping into Kendall and knocking her to the edge of the pier. Her foot slipped over the end and she was about to fall into the water when Giovanni quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her into him, preventing her from falling. She looked up at him, her eyes wide and their faces close.

"Th-thanks." She said quietly.

"Any time." He said with a small smile. They had both been interested in each other for a while but neither one of them had ever said or done anything about it.

He helped her steady herself before letting go of her and turning towards the boys that had run into them. His smile faded quickly and he glared at them.

"Why don't you watch where you're going next time?" he snapped at them as he took a step closer. The boys' eyes grew wide in fear as Giovanni got closer.

"W-We're really sorry." One of them stuttered.

"It's fine." Kendall said quickly. She put a hand on Giovanni's shoulder, trying to hold him back. "Giovanni, its fine." She said to him. She knew he had a temper and wouldn't think twice about attacking them, or anyone else for that matter. Giovanni sighed and closed his eyes for a moment before looking back at the two boys.

"Just go." He commanded. The boys didn't hesitate before running away quickly, careful to avoid him as they moved past them.

"What was that about?" Daniel asked them as he and Alexander stood up and walked over to them. "About to kill two more kids?" he asked Giovanni with a mischievous smile. He knew full well that Giovanni would snap at anyone with even the slightest provocation and he had _many_ times before. Alexander's eyes wandered around the area; he always seemed to be distracted by something.

"It was nothing." Kendall said dismissively. "We should probably get going, though. Don't have much time before… well, you know." She knew that Giovanni wasn't exactly the biggest fan of the Hunger Games and didn't want to think about it.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Daniel said. "Let's all meet here afterwards, okay?" he asked. The rest agreed before walking off the pier and towards their houses to get ready. Though Giovanni was a bit less than thrilled to go back home.

… … … … … …

Giovanni didn't flinch when his finger was pinched before filling into the rows of children his age; he was too distracted by his anger. His family had infuriated him so much as he was getting ready, as if he wasn't already stressed out about it enough. Between his fathers commands and his mother yelling at him for taking the lord's name in vain _multiple_ times and his sister acting as if she was the most perfect thing in the world, he just couldn't take it anymore. He had stormed out of the house before he had even finished getting completely ready, the top buttons on his shirt still undone. He had quickly fastened them as he walked through the streets on his way to where the reaping was to be held.

He didn't bother looking for Daniel or Alexander; he knew that because they were a year older than him they would both be too far away to see. He could, however, see Kendall on the other side of the roped area standing with the girls in her age group. She gave him a half smile but he didn't respond. He turned his head away as he listened to the overdramatic, overdressed escort that looked absolutely ridiculous as she walked across the stage and towards the microphone. He couldn't even listen to her as she dragged on and on during her usual introduction, too distracted on how much she stood out. He didn't even notice that the film had begun playing until it was over. It wasn't as if he was upset he missed it, he hated being forced to watch the stupid film made by the Capitol. It was so idiotic and the way they portrayed the districts in it completely annoyed him. He was almost glad when the escort finally reached into the reaping bowl with the girls names in it.

… … … … … …

"Harmonia Dorcey!" the escort called out. Harmonia's head spun for a quick moment. _What?_ This wasn't supposed to happen for a few more years, and she was supposed to volunteer, not be reaped. It wasn't supposed to go like this. But it had. Then she remembered the wish she had made earlier, that she wouldn't have to wait to be entered. She had wanted to be in the Games this year. And it seemed like she was getting her wish.

It didn't take long for her confusion to turn to happiness. She walked to the stage, not having to go far because her age section was the second closest. She went up the steps and stood next to the escort with a confident smirk. The escort congratulated her before asking for volunteers.

"No!" Harmonia said quickly. "I don't want any volunteers." She informed her.

… … … … … …

He let out a sigh of relief when he heard it wasn't Kendall's name that had been called. That was his only fear during all of this. He was almost terrified that the Capitol would take her away against her will to go to her death. He absolutely despised the Capitol for making him think like that. If he ever had the chance he would do everything he could to take them down, no matter what the cost. But it wasn't as if he would ever have the opportunity to even go there, never mind have any way to get the people's attention. Or… maybe he did have a chance.

After introducing the girl, the escort walked over to the boy's names. She reached in and called out a name that Giovanni had never heard before. A small boy who looked barely twelve years old walked nervously up to the stage. The boy's eyes were filled with tears as he looked out over the crowd.

"Are there any volunteers?" the escort asked into the microphone. Without taking a moment to think it over, Giovanni's hand shot up.

"Me!" he called. He pushed through the crowd to get closer to the stage. "I volunteer." Peacekeepers approached him and led him up the steps of the stage as the boy who had originally been called walked down.

"A volunteer!" the escort said excitedly. "And what is your name?" she asked him. He couldn't help but give her a slightly disgusted look; she looked even more ridiculous up close.

"Giovanni Vara." He spoke clearly, his voice cold. As he looked out over the crowd all the faces blurred together, no one person standing out. It was too late to turn back now.

… … … … … …

Her father was the first one she saw walk through the large doors of the Hall of Justice. He had a huge smile as he came into the room.

"Well you got your wish." He said as he hugged her. "You're going to be excellent. No one will expect you; no one will predict that you are the best one out there." He pulled away, allowing her mother and brother to embrace her quickly before she turned back to her father for any advice.

"Join the careers." He told her. "They will help you get through the first couple of days. Once the numbers go down you can break off from them or find away to get them killed off. After that, the game is as good as yours. You will be marvelous. I can't wait to watch you." He kissed her forehead quickly when he saw the Peacekeeper open the door. She watched as they were led out of the room.

… … … … … …

"Giovanni!" Kendall cried as she flew in the door of the Justice Building. "What are you thinking?" she asked, her eyes filling with tears. Daniel and Alexander followed in behind her.

"There's nothing for me here. I know that I can't stay here for the rest of my life, I need to do something." He answered, telling her the truth.

"Even if that means dying?" she demanded, her voice sounding angry. He nodded his head.

"Even if that means dying." He confirmed.

"But you will try, wont you?" Alexander asked. Giovanni sighed before nodding his head.

"Of course I'll try. There's no guarantee though." He said. Of course there were no guarantees, there never were in this kind of thing. They all knew that. They knew not to expect much.

"We'll miss you." said Daniel, who had been silent up until then.

"Yeah, I'll miss you guys too." Giovanni said, his voice sounding a bit strained. _No. You wanted this _he reminded himself.

The Peacekeeper came and kicked them out of the room before it felt like their five minutes were even over. Giovanni was about to argue with him but decided that there was no point. He watched as his friend's left knowing that if he was going to miss anything, it would be them.

His family came and left quickly, barely saying anything to him. They were all surprised but his mother and sister barely acted concerned. His father wished him good luck before leaving and then they were all gone, just like that. _Good_ Giovanni thought_ They are part of the reason I am leaving this place. I don't need any longer with them._

No one else came to say goodbye to him. Giovanni was off to the Capitol.

**Okay so I meant to do this for the last chapter too but I was in a rush and I forgot. I just want to do a quick little A/N at the end of each reaping just saying what I think of the tributes to see if maybe you agree (or disagree). **

**Hmm, so District 1…. I think they are both VERY different characters which I like in district partners. Gold is terrifying and Shail is… well, not. **

**District 2 is a very Career-y (that's a word, right? No? Oh well…) district this year. Classic career tributes but maybe they have a few tricks up their sleeves? **

**District 3 seems very Un-District 3-ish in the sense that neither seem to be the obviously incredibly smart District 3 tributes that I, and most people, come to expect. But hey, you never know who might surprise you! **

**I think I really like the District 4 tributes. Like, REALLY like them. I don't know what it is but something about them stands out to me. Agree?**

**Remember to leave a review telling me what you think of the chapter and all of the tributes! I am hoping to be able to get another chapter up sometime this week but I guess it all depends how busy I am with school and how much homework I have. (Trust me, I would MUCH rather be writing this than doing homework. But you don't become an honor student by skipping assignments :\ ) If I don't get another up this week I will almost definitely have one up next weekend. I think that the weekend is going to be my usual update time with maybe a few days during the week if I'm not busy. And thank you for putting up with my long A/Ns, I'll try not to make them like this every chapter.**


	5. The Reaping: Part 3

**Yes, I know this chapter took a while. But in my defense, my computer crashed for a WICKED long time and I wasn't able to write or upload it. Better late than never! **

_District 5_

Xavier Casco moved quickly and silently around his room, attempting to gather any clothes that might be appropriate for the day's "event". In his house, it wasn't an easy task finding clothing that wasn't tattered, stained, old, or all three. But he knew that the reaping meant he had to at least be more presentable than usual.

His room, if it could even be called that, was smaller than any room he had ever been in. It barely had just enough space for his bed and small trunk where he kept his clothes. The rest of his limited possessions were kept in a cardboard box under his bed.

Xavier was an only child in a very poor family. It was only him and his mother in their tiny, rundown house in the poorest part of the district. He hardly had any friends, none that he ever got close to. He was used to being on his own.

After a while, he found the closest thing he had to a reaping-worthy outfit. He laid it out on his bed and looked at it for a moment, hesitating before putting it on. This could be what he is wearing when he is sentenced to his death. The entire country might see him walking up that stage, watching him intently through their television screens. He didn't want to imagine what that could possibly feel like. And he figured, well maybe more hoped, that he would never have to know.

After a few long moments of thought, he pulled the clothes on. He tried adjusting the shirt for a couple of minutes, hoping that if he tugged it the right way it would somehow fit better. He walked to the bathroom and grabbed a hairbrush off of the counter, pulling it through his medium length, straight brown hair until he thought it might look better than it normally did.

He looked in the mirror and examined himself through the cracks that ran through the glass. His hair actually did look better than it did other days. His dark green eyes seemed the same as always though. He had a sad yet somehow unforgettable face that didn't do much to mask the fact that he had been through more in his thirteen years than most people did in a lifetime.

He spun around quickly when he heard a delicate sigh coming from the doorway. His mother was standing there, watching her son with anxious yet soft eyes. She was small in the way that made you think if she fell she would shatter to a million pieces. She shared her sons green eyes and pale skin and she was even shorter than he was. She offered Xavier a small smile, though he could tell she was fighting back tears.

"Mom, I'll be fine," he said as he took a step towards her. "Please don't worry," he begged as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a soft embrace. He and his mother were very close; they were all each other had in the world. He hated to see her worry over him. He knew that she had tried hard since he had been born to give him the best life she could. Although they had next to nothing, he knew that she wished she could give him everything.

"I know you will be," she said with a sigh. She pulled back from his embrace and looked into his eyes for a few moments. "You should get going," she said finally. "You'll be late." She hugged him one last time before pushing him gently out the door.

… … … … … …

Fluora Denzel was sitting down on her bed next to her best friend, Casalena Judas. Fluora held her friends hand tightly, doing her best to try and comfort her. Casalena was one of the many children in their district, and others, who worried about the reapings all year long. And her worry only got worse as the event drew closer. Meaning today, the day of the reaping, she was an absolute wreck.

"Lena," Fluora said gently. "You are going to be fine, I promise. Nothing is going to happen to you. You aren't going to be the one picked." Although there was no way to know for sure, Fluora was willing to say anything to reassure her friend.

Fluora, though of course she worried about the reapings, was usually just a happy, mellow person. She tried to always stay optimistic, which was good considering Casalena was pessimistic enough for the both of them.

"Come on, we have to get ready," she reminded her softly. The whole reason that Casalena was at Fluora's house was so that they could get ready together. But the moment she had come into the room she had broken down crying. Which is why Fluora had spent the last twenty minutes holding and comforting her friend instead of getting dressed. Now they had only a couple of minutes before they had to leave the house.

Casalena nodded her head in agreement before using her hand to wipe the remaining tears from her face. Fluora got up off of the bed and picked up the bag with the dress Casalena had brought over and handed it to her before walking over to her closet and getting her own dress. It was knee length and a faded red color. After pulling on the dress she tied back her black hair with a red ribbon.

She turned back towards her friend, who was once again sitting down on the bed. She had her light blue dress on but was just holding the ribbon in her hand, absentmindedly running her finger along the frayed edge of the fabric.

"Here, let me do it," Fluora said quietly. Casalena nodded and handed her the ribbon. She quickly pulled back her friend's dark blonde hair into an identical style as the one she was wearing herself. "There, it's perfect," she said as she stepped back to look at her.

"Thank you Fluora," Casalena said as she stood up and hugged her. A moment later Fluora's father Lyle came in, her two year old brother Dayton clinging to his leg.

"It's time to go, girls," he said solemnly. He picked Dayton up into his arms so the girls could get through the door. "Good luck," he said as Fluora passed, kissing her head softly.

… … … … … …

Xavier walked slowly to the section where he was to wait for the reaping to being, glancing over his shoulder nervously every few minutes. As he looked around at the other boys in his age group he noticed that he barely recognized everyone. Though he went to school with them all, he hardly ever bothered to pay attention to the faces of his classmates. His school days were often a few hours of him trying his hardest to listen to what the teachers were saying over his hunger and/or thoughts of his mother. He would always leave the building as fast as possible after his last class, never trying to make friends with the other kids. It is how he had lived his entire life.

But it seemed like they knew he was. Either that or they all just seemed content with ignoring his presence all together. Xavier had thought that maybe they would stare at him because of his lack of "formal" clothing for the occasion that they were all wearing but it turned out that none of them cared in the slightest. Or if they did, they didn't show it.

But now as he looked at the other boys, with their faces ranging from looks of terror to looks of complete boredom, he sort of wished he had tried a bit harder to make at least one friend. At least then he would have had someone to worry over this with and someone to celebrate in relief in a few hours when they were safe back in their homes. He decided that, maybe, when he got back to school the next day, he would pay more attention to the people around him. Maybe then he could have try and make a friend.

But then he thought, what if the person that he would have made friends with was picked today? What if the one person that would have decided to become his friend, was dead in just a few weeks? Or, what if his friend wasn't picked today, but next year? Then he would have to give up his only friend in the world after only one year.

The more he thought it over, the less appealing making a friend sounded.

Before he could think about that situation more, he heard the sound of a light tapping on the microphone that was set up in the middle of the stage in front of them where the escort now stood.

The reapings were about to begin.

… … … … … …

Fluora held onto Casalena's hand the entire time as they filed into their age group. She could feel Casalena's body begin to shake in fear and she wished that she could help her friend, but she knew there was nothing that she could do now. There would be no way to reassure her until after it was all over and they were all safe back home.

As she looked around, Fluora spotted one of her other closest friends, Brick, standing in the boy's section. She gave him a small wave and he waved back, smiling comfortingly and mouthing 'it's okay'. Brick knew that Fluora had been busy helping Casalena stop worrying even though she was silently worrying herself. She was glad someone tried to help her instead of the other way around.

When she heard someone tap on the microphone in the center of the stage she looked up quickly. The escort was standing, smiling down at them and wishing them the usual 'Happy Hunger Games', as if anyone could even think about being happy at the moment.

Throughout the entire opening speech and film, Fluora tried to distract herself by listening to Casalena's faltering breathes. Soon though, she had to start paying attention long enough to watch a name being drawn out of the girls bowl.

_Not Lena. Not Lena._

"Fluora Denzel!"

A moment of relief washed over her when the name was not her best friend's. But the gasp coming from that friend was what brought the realization of whose name it actually was. Her's.

She didn't move for a moment, hoping that by some miracle there was a mistake. But there was no mistake. There was no miracle.

When she saw the group of Peacekeepers walking towards her she began to move forward out of fear alone. They walked behind her, keeping a hand on her back and pushing her up the stage. She looked back before stepping up and saw Casalena's terrified face. Without thinking, Fluora smiled as best as she could manage, hoping that somehow it would make Lena less afraid. Maybe if she smiled her friend would feel a bit better. But it certainly did nothing to make herself feel better.

She had to concentrate so hard on keeping that smile on that she couldn't focus enough to listen to the name of the boy who was called. She didn't even realize that one had been called until she saw him step onto the stage.

The first and only thing she noticed about him was how tiny he was. It looked as if he hadn't eaten in months. She instantly forgot about the pain she was feeling for herself and felt immediate pity for this boy who looked like he could barely keep himself standing, never mind have enough strength to lift a weapon or defend himself.

Her smile faded as she shook hands with him, all of her attention going towards trying to look over as much of this boy as she could. She knew that he was supposed to be her competition but she wished that somehow she could help him.

… … … … … …

Xavier watched as the girl walked slowly up to the stage, a formation of Peacekeepers trailing behind her. Her hands were clenched into fists at her side. As she approached the microphone where the escort was waiting, she put on a smile that Xavier could tell was forced. He knew she was scared; she _had_ to be scared. Who wouldn't be?

But he had to admit, her fake smile looked pretty convincing; it seemed like everyone else in the audience believed her. The only reason that he was able to tell the difference was because he had spent his entire life wearing the exact same face.

The girl's smile subsided just a bit as she stepped aside while the escort moved to the boys names. Xavier watched every movement of her hand, not even blinking because of the fear that he would somehow miss something by doing so.

The slip of paper was unfolded a bit too slowly as it was lifted in front of the escorts face. Xavier sucked in a quick breath and held it.

"Xavier Casco!"

So it was him. Should he be shocked? Somehow, he didn't think so. It was almost as if he had known all along, though he had never let himself think it. But now he had no choice. He didn't notice himself start to walk up towards the stage, his movements were almost mechanical.

He didn't even look at the escort as he passed her to stand next to the girl who would now be his district partner. He didn't listen to the closing statements of the event. The only thing he noticed about his district partner when he shook her hand was that her smile was gone, a look of pity replacing it.

He didn't care when a Peacekeeper led him into the Justice Building and pushed him into the room. He didn't care that the room he was standing in was one of the most beautiful places he had ever been in.

He stopped caring. This was his fate. He was going to die.

He finally started paying attention to the world around him when the grand doors opened and his mother flew in, closing the distance between them in seconds and pulling him into a tight hug. He could hear the soft, choking tears coming from her as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered through her sobs. He wrapped his arms around her gently.

"It isn't you fault," he said quietly. He found it strange that his voice sounded somehow different now, as if this had already completely changed him. "It's going to be okay. I-I'll be fine," he said although they both knew it was a lie.

They both stood there for a few long minutes, holding each other in silence. Before they could say anything else, a Peacekeeper opened the door and commanded that she leave. But she only held onto him tighter, not moving at all. The Peacekeeper came into the room and grabbed her by the shoulder roughly, forcing her away from him. She struggled for a moment before just giving up the fight.

"I'll never stop loving you!" she called to Xavier. The door slammed shut before he could even respond.

He fell to the floor, sobs shaking his entire body.

… … … … … …

Fluora paced back and forth in the room in the Justice Building as she waited for any visitors that might come to say their goodbyes. For a fleeting moment she wondered if anyone would come at all, but of course the doors opened, letting in her father and younger brother.

Dayton ran up to her and she scooped him into her arms, kissing him on the cheek. Her father came over and wrapped his arms around both of them. She could hear his breath catching in his throat, but he didn't let any tears fall. She knew that he wouldn't let himself cry until no one was looking.

"You will try, wont you?" he asked her.

"Of course I will," she answered. "I'm going to try and then maybe I'll get home." She hoped that saying it would convince herself that it was true, but her voice grew quiet on the last part, showing how unsure of the statement she really was. But she wouldn't let her father and brother see that. This could be their last memory of her; she didn't want it to be watching her cry.

"You can do it," he said as he squeezed her hand. It looked like he was about to say more but he was interrupted by a Peacekeeper opening the door. Lyle carefully took Dayton from Fluora's arms and held him close. He didn't say anything as he left the room.

She didn't even have time to be sad before the door opened again, this time letting in Casalena and Brick. Casalena didn't hesitate before running up to her, throwing her arms around her and holding on to her tightly.

"I should have volunteered!" she cried.

"No!" Fluora protested. "No, I didn't want you to. I wouldn't have let you." She took in a deep breath and pulled back to face her friend. "I'm going to be okay. I will try my hardest and maybe I could come home in a few weeks. It could work." Saying it this time was a little easier than it had been before. Whether it was because she believed it more this time or because she just was better at telling the lie, she didn't know.

"Lena, I promise I will try," she said, knowing that it was the only truth she could say at the moment. She nodded and stepped aside, allowing Brick to come forward. He embraced her quickly and soon pulled away, looking at her gravely.

"Are you really going to try?" he asked quietly so Casalena couldn't hear. He knew that she would not have an easy time killing anyone. He thought that maybe she wouldn't try to win just to avoid having to kill. But she nodded seriously, knowing what he was thinking and knowing that she would try.

"I will," she promised. He sighed and nodded his head.

"Then I guess that's all I can ask. Good luck," he said as he hugged her quickly again.

As if he had known exactly when it would happen, as soon as he pulled away a Peacekeeper opened the door and ushered them out.

The doors closed as she caught the last glimpse of her friends, perhaps the last she would ever see of them.

_District 6_

"Kill him Dally!" Wesley shouted in encouragement to his best friend, fifteen year old Dally Comyu. Dally and another boy their age were in the center of a large circle of people that was growing by the minute. The two boys had been arguing over who knows what and it had turned into an all-out fight. No one really knew who had thrown the first punch, but it didn't matter now; neither of them were about to stop.

It was difficult to tell who was winning at each moment, but both boys seemed to be both receiving and giving some serious hits. The crowd in the ring around them continued to cheer in encouragement, happy for the entertainment. Neither of the boys seemed to be giving up anytime soon so the fight may have gone on for a lot longer if it hadn't been for a teacher that came out of the school building. The teacher managed to push through the mass of kids and up to the two fighters and break them apart. The spectators quickly dispersed, leaving only Dally and his friends and the other boy. The boy, who now had a black eye, a bloody nose, and a tear under his eye, didn't seem to like the odds he now faced and quickly moved away.

Dally turned to the three people who remained, his best friends Wesley and Claude, and his girlfriend Cillia. Wesley and Claude smiled in excitement over Dally's accomplishment while Cillia stood there, shaking her head slowly in silent disapproval.

It was apparent that Dally hadn't suffered nearly as badly as the other boy had. The only visible injury he had was a split lip, though it didn't seem to bother him enough to stop him from wearing a cocky smile.

"Show off," Cillia muttered quietly as Dally, Wesley and Claude started bumping fists.

"Oh come on," Dally said with a grin. "You know it was fun to watch. And besides, I won. Again." Dally had been getting into many fights lately and he almost always walked away victorious. He had all the physical traits of a fighter; tall, a large build, and brute strength. But he had absolutely zero intelligence. He was lucky that most of his opponents didn't either, or he would lose based on that alone.

After a brief celebration with his friends, they all parted ways to go to their homes, agreeing to meet back after it was over.

… … … … … …

"Keep up, Addi!" eighteen year old Aster called to is twin sister, Adelie. The two were walking with their three friends, Ross, Candella, and Lola, to the reaping. The five of them lived on the outskirts of the district, the farthest away from where the reapings were being held. They had had to leave extra early to make sure that they would arrive on time. But Adelie wasn't really focusing, causing her to fall slightly behind the others. She shot her twin an annoyed look.

"I'm coming, Aster." She said in an aggravated tone. She hated when her brother acted like he was the boss. She sped up her pace slightly, not really feeling like she should be in any kind of hurry. This was her and her brother's last year being eligible for the reapings. And later that day, when the event was over and they were back home, they would never have to worry about it again. She felt like this was something to be celebrated, not something to rush towards. Her brother, however, thought differently. He _always_ had to be on time for everything they did. It was one of the many things that bothered her about him.

Aster sighed quietly and slowed down to match his sisters pace. "Excited or nervous?" he asked her once he was at her side. It was something that he often did; give her two different emotions and ask her which one she was feeling at the moment. This was often necessary to do if he wanted to understand how she was feeling. Adelie was a very moody person and it was hard to tell how she felt at each moment because her emotions changed so quickly.

She considered the options for a moment before answering. "Nervous, I suppose." She said thoughtfully. "But after its all over I will be excited." Aster nodded his head.

"No need to be nervous, is my guess. It's our last year and we hardly had to take any extra entries this time. I think we might have even fewer names in than last year. Don't worry," he said before running back ahead to stand next to Ross.

Adelie considered her brother's words for a little while before they reached the crowd that they would need to stand in. She parted from Ross and her brother, hugging him quickly before he went to go stand in the boys line to get his blood drawn. She got in line in front of Candella and Lola. She didn't flinch as her finger was pricked and she moved in to the group of girl's her age. She got separated from her two friends slightly but she could still see them over the heads of a few other girls. She figured she would be able to get back with them easy enough once they were allowed to leave.

They didn't have to wait long before the escort for their district, an odd looking man with purple hair, began speaking excitedly into the microphone at a mile a minute. She had to focus hard just to understand each word that came out of his mouth. As the film played, she began wondering where she would be standing in this time next year. She never really knew where the people who weren't children and weren't parents stayed while the reapings took place. She decided to ask her parents when she got home.

The film ended, interrupting her from her thoughts. She watched as the escort went over to the reaping ball and put his hand in with a flourish.

_Remember what Aster said. Don't be nervous. This is your last year. Don't be nervous._

Remembering her brother's words managed to keep her calm while the slip of paper and the name was called out through the microphone.

"Adelie Loret!"

She couldn't have heard it right. Aster had said she wasn't going to get picked. He had said it, how could it not be true? She knew she didn't have long at all to think it over. She knew she had to walk up to the stage and accept what had happened. She also knew that the entire country was watching her now and, in a few hours, so would every other tribute.

She didn't have to try too hard to look unafraid; she was used to it. There were very few things in life that she feared so she was considered brave by a lot of people.

She managed to keep that appearance as she looked out over the crowd of relieved faces, everyone glad that it wasn't themselves who were in her place. She knew that she wasn't going to see a lot of concerned faces, she had very few friends due to her at times temperamental personality. The only people she truly knew would be upset by this was her family and the three friends she had walked here with.

Instead of trying to find their familiar faces in the crowd, she focused on the boy that had been called and was now walking up the steps to the stage. The first thing she noticed about him was how big he was, but it didn't worry her too much; she was fairly muscular herself. The thing that bothered her about him was the look of complete arrogance on his face. He looked and walked as if he had already been crowned victor.

When he shook her hand she saw him try to give an intimidating look, but to her, he just looked ridiculous. She rolled her eyes at him, wanting him to know how completely unfazed by him she was. She would_ not_ let him think she was some weak little girl.

… … … … … …

Dally watched as the girl who had just been selected walked up to the stage. Her expression seemed fairly brave and certain of herself but he saw a quick flash of fear in her eyes. _Weak_ he thought. He couldn't help but almost scoff at her undecided confidence; if it were _him_ up there, he would never even have a second of doubt. He almost envied the girl who now had this opportunity. Though he would never volunteer, he would gladly accept his chance at this challenge.

And as the escort called out his name, he realized that he was going to get his chance.

At first he was shocked at the coincidence but the shock was quickly replaced with excitement. He didn't hesitate before walking up to the stage, a smirk on his face. As he looked up at the cameras that he could see behind the crowd of people and the screens projecting his face he quickly took in his appearance. Between his size, his buzz cut blonde hair, and the small scar on his cheek, he was sure he looked intimidating enough that no matter who watched the replays of this later would no that he was not to be messed with. He wanted to instill fear in his opponents from the moment they saw him, even if that was through a television screen.

When it came time to shake hands with the girl standing with him on stage, he made sure to look her dead in the eye and give her his most fear-provoking grin. It did, however, falter when the girl responded by simply rolling her eyes. _Not_ the response he had been hoping for. Oh well, he would make sure to change her thoughts about him as soon as possible. He wouldn't have _anyone _underestimate him, especially not this girl.

… … … … … …

Adelie moved restlessly around the huge room, waiting for her friends and family to come and say their goodbyes. She wasn't sure what she was going to say to them; what do you say to someone you might never see again?

She didn't have long to think of the answer before her parents came in, both in near hysterics.

"It was your _last year_," her mother, Adrienne cried. "You were so close to…" she was cut off by her own sobs. Her father, Exodio held her back in his arms, trying to calm her down. He let go of her and moved to Adelie.

"You'll be fine," he said, almost confidently. "I know it."

Adelie, in a lot of ways, was like her father. They both had the same deeply tanned skin and hazel eyes. They both were stubborn, impulsive, at times sarcastic, and confident even when they shouldn't be. Which is why Adelie believed what he said.

"Thank you," she said quietly as she wrapped her arms around him. She buried her face into his shoulder for a minute before she heard the door open and the Peacekeeper enter the room. After squeezing her tightly for a second longer, Exodio backed away and left the room, pulling Adrienne by the hand behind him.

After a minute of silent waiting, the door opened again, this time letting in Ross, Lola, Candella, and Aster. Aster didn't even wait for the door to close behind him before crossing the room and wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry." He continued repeating himself until he became almost inaudible.

"It's not your fault," she assured him quietly. "You couldn't have known." She could hear his sigh.

"I know, but I feel like… like I should have been able to protect you. I'm your older brother-"

"Ten minutes does _not_ count as older." Adelie interrupted with a teasing smile. Aster couldn't help but smile back. The door opened behind them and she could hear the boots of the Peacekeeper approaching. Aster didn't look away from his sister's eyes.

"I'll always be routing for you," he promised.

… … … … … …

Dally stood in the room in the Justice Building with his arms folded over his chest as he waited for any more visitors that would come to see him. He had already spoken to his parents and now he was just waiting for whatever friends might come to say goodbye before he left. He was growing slightly impatient of waiting and was starting to pace around when the door finally opened, Wesley, Claude, and Cillia coming in.

He expected them to be happy for him; after all, they had seen him win all those fights before, why would this be any different? But their expressions seemed the opposite of happy. Cillia had tears running down her face as she looked at him. She wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shirt. He didn't understand why she was acting so upset though, didn't she think he had a chance?

"Don't worry, its not like I'm going to lose." He said confidently to all three of them, hoping that hearing it would remind them.

"This is different!" Cillia practically shouted. "It's not just fist fighting anymore, Dally! There are going to be swords and knives and so many other things! You have to stop and think about how dangerous this is!" She stepped to the side, allowing Wesley to come closer.

"Cillia's right, man. Yeah, you're a good fighter but you're going to have to learn a lot more than you know. Try to learn something while you are there?" he asked. Dally huffed out a breath and reluctantly nodded his head. His friends were seriously bringing his mood down. Just a moment ago he had been beyond excited and now they were making him second guess himself.

_No. _

He wasn't going to do that. He was the best and he knew it. No matter what they said, he knew it.

**Sorry this took so long but I honestly have had no time to write since school started. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I can't wait to hear what you think of these tributes.**

**I think the District 5 tributes are absolutely adorable and I think I've planned a few chapters in advanced for what I want to happen with them.**

**I despise Dally but I LOVE writing him (yes, there is a difference!) And I really haven't made up my mind about Adelie yet.**

**So remember to leave a review! Thank you!**


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